Ice cream is a perishable food and should be stored properly to ensure great flavor and taste. Follow these tips on safe storage and handling.
- Make the ice cream aisle the last stop during your trip to the supermarket.
- Be sure the package feels hard and shows no signs of thawing and refreezing.
- When you get home, unpack ice cream first and place in the coldest part of the freezer (not inside the freezer door). Your freezer should be set at between -5o and 0o F.
- Ice cream can absorb flavors from its environment. Store containers, tightly sealed and away from frozen foods that may give off odors.
- After you serve ice cream, press a sheet of wax paper on the surface before replacing the lid. This will prevent ice crystals from forming and help maintain freshness.
No matter how they’re served, ice cream and sorbet are delicious. Simply enjoy a scoop or two, or add your own easy, effortless touch.
Here’s the “scoop” on scooping ice cream. Let frozen-hard ice cream soften just a little (but not much) so it’s easier to scoop. Because low-fat ice cream and frozen yogurt soften and melt faster, your favorite Healthy Choice Ice Cream flavor may be ready to scoop right from your freezer.
- Scoop with a dry spoon or dipper. That helps protect ice cream that’s still in the carton from forming ice crystals back in the freezer.
- Scoop with a circular motion, in the top inch or so, where it’s a little softer.
- Put the carton back in the freezer as soon as you finish scooping!
Need to serve ice cream scoops fast, perhaps for a big party? Make your scoops a few hours ahead. Put them on a cookie sheet; cover with plastic wrap. To serve, just lift them off the cookie sheet.
They say, it’s all in the presentation! To “wow” your friends and family, add a little style to America’s favorite dessert: ice cream.
- Serve ice cream in a “fruit bowl.” Scoop a cantaloupe (just take out the seeds), and fill it with ice cream. A large orange makes a great party dish for ice cream, too. Cut the orange in half and remove the orange segments; save them to use as a topper. Then fill the orange peels with
slightly-softened ice cream. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze them until serving time.
- Make a fabulous ice cream pie! Start with a frozen crumb crust. Fill it with slightly-softened ice cream, perhaps Healthy Choice Cappuccino Chocolate Chunk, Turtle Fudge Cake, Mint Chocolate Chip – or simply Vanilla Ice Cream. Add a topping if you’d like, perhaps nuts, sliced canned fruit, or crumbled cookies. Cover with plastic wrap, then freeze until it’s hardened and ready to slice.
For a portable snack, stock your freezer with Healthy Choice Frozen Novelties, made with low-fat ice cream or sorbet. Or have fun concocting your own snacks to enjoy “in hand.”
- Get kids involved in the fun, as they make their own ice cream sandwiches. Just layer a small scoop of slightly-softened Healthy Choice Ice Cream between two oatmeal or granola cookies. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze to harden.
- Give your cones pizzazz! Dip them in melted chocolate, then roll in chopped nuts. Once the chocolate hardens, fill the cones with your favorite ice cream or sorbet.
- More hand-held flavor for kids: ice cream burritos. Just slightly soften Healthy Choice Praline and Caramel Ice Cream. Spread some ice cream on a wheat tortilla, then top with sliced fruit. Roll, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze right away until it hardens.
Vanilla ice cream is the nation's best seller — and a great choice for mixing in flavorful ingredients to enjoy in an ice cream pie, over a fruit crisp, or in a refreshing smoothie. The trick: just slightly soften the ice cream, add the mix-in (use a cold bowl and utensil), then freeze (covered) until ready to serve.
- For a delicate flavor, add the “scents” of herbs and spices: chopped fresh mint, lavender, or ginger ... or cardamom or cinnamon powder. Use a touch of instant coffee or cocoa powder. Or if you grow scented geraniums or edible flowers in your garden, try them too!
- For a chunky texture, mix in coconut or chopped nuts, perhaps chopped almonds, pecans, or pistachios. Toast and cool nuts or coconut first, for more flavor. Crumbled granola or cookies, dried cranberries, raisins or other dried fruit taste good, too.
- Go crunchy or smooth with peanut butter. Portion just how much you need in an airtight container (no need to bring the whole jar). Remember your spreader!
Click here — for more ways to chill out with ice cream.
